As predicted there was plenty of excitement last weekend in the Belco Cup. A few strengths, but more evident were the weaknesses highlighted.When it comes to batting it seems as though a game plan is lacking individually. What is demonstrated more and more is that batsmen are walking to the wicket with no goal, no game plan, no thought process, but yet they expect to do well.Doing well without having a plan of action will probably only happen 30-40 percent of the time in Bermuda, and that figure will drop drastically in international competitions. Batsmen have to be more focused at the crease and fully understand what is needed in different scenarios.First of all as a batsman you must know your strengths and your weaknesses. Critique yourself and then come up with a plan of how to be successful.Take the time to write down how you get out in every game to see if there are similar patterns. For myself, what I recognised was that early in my innings I would always get out playing the hook shot. Even though I loved to play the shot I had to figure out a way to prevent that from happening.There were two basic things that I changed. One was to bat with a lighter bat because I found I wasn’t getting around on my hook shots quick enough, and the second thing I did was early in my innings I restricted myself. I had to force myself not to play the hook shot until I had scored at least 20 runs, ensuring that I felt comfortable knowing the bounce and pace of the wicket.Prior to coming to the wicket, too many of our players spend time talking about everything but cricket. It amazes me that batsmen don’t pay attention to the game in more depth.As a batsman you should always be watching the bounce of the wicket as one end of the wicket may bounce differently than the other end. One end of the wicket may play a little quicker or turn more than the other end.Batsmen should be looking to see who is bowling, how many overs they have bowled and how they set their field. Knowing the field placing of a bowler will help you to know what shots you should be playing before even getting to the middle of the wicket.Once at the crease a batsman must find a batting stance and trigger movement that is comfortable for him.Some batsmen stand still as the bowler delivers, some like to go back and across while others like to do a forward press. It really doesn’t matter which trigger movement you do as long as at the point of delivery you are still, and your eyes are level.Far too often players are moving all over the place prior to delivery and find their eyes slanted which normally causes trouble when facing a swinging delivery.Previously, often times as a spectator you would see a batsman standing and looking around the field checking out the field placing but still managing to hit the ball directly to the fielder.As the game has advanced batsmen are now taught to look at the gaps. It is apparently a mental thing. If you look at the player you are more than likely going to pick out the player, but if you look to see where the gaps in the field are you are more likely to hit the ball in the gaps.A big problem that we also have in Bermuda cricket is batsmen allowing spectators to influence their shot selection. This shows lack of concentration and focus. This is difficult because at times you may have a batting strategy but because of one or two fans shouting out “hit the ball you are boring us”, the batsman makes the choice to entertain the crowd and next thing you know he is out.Stick to your game plan and block everything else out. Do whatever it takes to make you a successful batsman.This is just the beginning of what is needed to begin to see success as a batsman. Shot selection, batting with a plan, building partnerships, mental toughness, and valuing your wicket are just as important but they all have to work together. Next week I will give my opinions and views on how to achieve these characteristics, hopefully making it clear on what it takes to score runs consistently.My aim through these articles is to share what I feel are some critical points to success. Some may work for you while some may not but I encourage you to try them and make them part of your personal game plan and over a period of time I am almost sure you will reap the rewards and become a more consistent successful batsman.